1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sample perfume bottle and perfume for test marketing the bottle and/or the perfume, and for gift packs for an existing perfume.
2. The State of the Art
Various perfumes are often test-marketed with respect to the perfume, the perfume bottle, and/or its packaging. Focus-groups are one method of testing, wherein a product is given to an independent group of people (for example, potential consumers or randomly chosen) whose comments on the potentially-marketed item are solicited for possible changes to be made to the item.
One aspect of perfume marketing is its packaging. There are various novel styles of packaging, as described, for example, in the following U.S. patents:
Most of these styles involve a decorative container for a bottle of perfume; for example, a cork container (Thomas), or a wood or metal container (Haighney), or one where the wood can be decoratively carved (Bowen), or a reusable decorative case made from crystal or precious metal-plated plastic (Somogyi). Others (Huang and Saujet) provide a housing for the glass perfume bottle.
Perfume bottles are often designed to have distinctive shapes, oftentimes trademarked, so that the marketer develops consumer awareness of the particular bottle associated with a given perfume. Occasionally, the marketer may change the fragrance of the perfume and maintain the bottle design, or may change the bottle, or both. Changing either the bottle, which is made of glass (unless a refill, as described by Somogyi), is often an expensive proposition, at least in part due to the cost of a production quantity of new molds. Changing the perfume is similarly costly and likely more time-consuming.
Accordingly, it is difficult to test market, such as a presentation to a focus group, a new perfume and/or perfume bottle. This invention provides an easier method for providing a sample perfume bottle for test-marketing perfume.
In another respect, one method for marketing a perfume includes providing a gift box or sample pack which includes a smaller (e.g., miniature) version of a commercially available perfume. For more unusual bottles, it is often not cost effective to provide a miniature version of the bottle, and so the miniature bottle provided is a standard rectilinear (circular or rectangular) bottle. Accordingly, in another aspect this invention provides a more cost effective method for providing miniature versions of commercially available perfumes for gift boxes and samples.
One object of this invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive test perfume bottle for marketing perfume, and especially one where the perfume is removable and can be placed into a test bottle of another design.
Another object of this invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive perfume bottle as a miniature (smaller) version of a commercially available perfume for use as a sample or as part of a gift box.
A device for accomplishing these objects comprises a two part container having a top and a bottom and the combined geometry and ornamental appearance of a perfume bottle, especially a smaller version of a commercial perfume bottle, and a bore or channel into which a removable dispensing canister of perfume can be housed.